"Miss Yoon, I've made changes to the project table and sent the report to the accounting team per your request."
Min Hyun turned his whole body and looked at his senior with somewhat proud eyes like a dog waiting to be praised. Se Ah nodded her head slowly, still absorbed in her current task, and said almost under her breath,
"Good job."
After that night when she almost strangled Min Hyun to death, despite his desperate attempts to convince her that everything was alright, Se Ah could not help but feel uncomfortable around him. That night she was supposed to ask him for forgiveness and promise not to overdo it again, instead, she almost kicked him out of her apartment as if he was contagious and decided to minimize her contact with him as much as it was possible. At least outside their office.
On the other hand, Lee Min Hyun seemed to be attracted by that change of heart even more. His performance improved significantly as if he woke up one morning and became a completely different person, and everyone in their department noticed it at once. Miss Yoon, however, managed to remain detached and seemed to be the only one, to everybody else's surprise, not affected by that improvement.
"Figures. Miss Yoon is a perfectionist, to her, it's only natural that Lee Min Hyun became like this. She does not want to take credit for his change simply because this is a natural outcome of her hard work."
Mr. Shin looked over his desk and put on a patronizing smile for which Min Hyun did not care at all. He could not stand the fact that Se Ah was trying to push him away and was wrecking his head as to what else he could do in order to pull her back to him again. Although he was still holding her secret over her head, he thought it was too early to start threatening her with it.
"Miss Yoon, since we finished early, do you want to grab lunch together?"
The guy asked that question loudly on purpose because he knew that Se Ah, famous for being kind and outgoing, would think twice before refusing him, especially since he has been a great help to her as of late. As expected, all eyes were on them the moment he finished his sentence, and the woman felt them burning holes in her head. She looked at Min Hyun as if trying to burn him alive herself but quickly shook that uncomfortable feeling off and nodded with a polite smile on her pretty face.
"Sure, let's go. My treat."
"Really? And I can order whatever I want?"
She nodded again.
"Then... Maybe we should go to that new pasta place across the street instead?"
"Wooo, Lee Min Hyun, you're getting cockier! Don't overdo it, Miss Yoon might be the kindest person here but she still is your senior."
Mr. Park laughed at his own words and threw a quick estimating glance at Se Ah, whose polite smile was still in full bloom despite the awkwardness of the situation she was in.
"Sure, let's go. I've been craving pasta myself."
Lee Min Hyun jumped off his chair as if he was electrocuted, then quickly picked up Se Ah's purse and started walking so enthusiastically as if he was a dog going for a long-awaited walk in the park.
"Alright, enjoy your lunch!"
Team Leader Shin waved at them and sat back in his chair, sipping on his fourth cup of coffee.
"We are definitely lucky to have Miss Yoon around here. I was afraid that Lee Min Hyun would be a huge hindrance but she managed to turn him into a decent worker. Maybe I should have given them a corporate card..."
"Tsk. What's so special about that? It's her job to train him."
Miss Lee muttered these words under her breath with an unexpected tint of annoyance in her voice which attracted the attention of everyone else still present.
"What was that, Miss Lee?"
Team Leader Shin peeked from behind his computer screen but Miss Lee only shook her head and smiled.
"I'm sorry, I was just talking to myself."
She hid behind her own screen and pretended to type.
'Yoon Se Ah and Lee Min Hyun... No matter how I look at it, this is not right. He is way younger and yet he is chasing after her like some kind of a rescued dog. What is so great about her that every other guy is so into her for no apparent reason? I need to do something about it.'
***
"Miss Yoon, did I do something wrong?"
Min Hyun put away the restaurant menu and looked intently at the woman sitting in front of him, busy choosing her meal. Se Ah did not follow his example and replied, still immersed in the dish selection,
"I thought we came here because you did something good for a change."
"You know what I mean."
Miss Yoon sighed, closed the menu, and slammed it on the table as if trying to kill a bug.
"I... did something I shouldn't have done and it made me feel weird. What I'm trying to say, Lee Min Hyun, is that I don't like how I behave when I'm with you, therefore, let's take a break. Maybe we're incompatible, or maybe I need someone more experienced to feel comfortable. I don't know. Let's just stop for now."
The guy clenched his fists on his knees under the table and felt an unusual influx of rage mixed with fear rushing straight to his brain. If he could, he would have taken her right there - bent her over the table, ripped her clothes to shreds, and fucked her like a wild animal until she fainted from either ecstasy or fatigue. He did not care. But he needed her to be fond of him, he simply needed her.
"Miss Yoon..."
He looked at her from under his perfect eyebrows with teary eyes hoping she would take pity on him but Miss Yoon was once again busy wandering her eyes through the restaurant menu.
"What is it now?"
"Can I see you at your place tonight?"
Min Hyun sounded almost desperate now.
"No. Now choose something quick and let's go. I can't stand it."
It was true, Se Ah could not stand it. She could not stand being involved with someone she could not figure out. Everything about Min Hyun made her question herself, made her change the way she thinks and behaves, and made her enjoy herself in ways she did not want to. She needed something else to unwind. Or someone else.